PARIS -- You could almost hear the sigh of relief from her English teammates as Emily Scarratt broke through one tackle, evaded another and touched down in the corner of Canadas end zone. After having to fight for every inch against a resilient Canadian team, England needed a stellar solo effort from its star centre to cement a 21-9 win over Canada in the womens rugby World Cup final. Scarratt scored 16 points on Sunday, including 10 straight to close the gold-medal game, as England won its second World Cup and its first in 20 years. After England dominated in the first half, Canada closed to within two points on a Magali Harvey penalty halfway through the second. But Scarratt kicked a penalty of her own a minute later, then capped the scoring with a try six minutes from the end of regulation. "We had a couple of opportunities to score tries that could have made a difference, but because we didnt then they were full of confidence and more physical and fresher than us," Canada coach Francois Ratier said. "When you have two opportunities and you dont score, then its almost impossible. Its not a question of passion or heart. Its just a question of in the final of any sport, if you dont score when you have the opportunities, then the other team will take them." Scarratt received the ball from a lineout and ran past Mandy Marchak, fended off fullback Julianne Zussman and ran the ball in to give England some much needed breathing room. She kicked a conversion to cap a spectacular tournament for the England centre. "Its just a missed tackle," Ratier said. "We tried to tackle high but (Scarratt) has a really strong upper body. We should have gone lower but thats the way it is." Harvey had all of Canadas points on three penalties and finished the tournament with 61 points, second only to Scarratts 70. It was Canadas first appearance in the World Cup final. Its previous best finish was fourth, which it did in three consecutive tournaments from 1998 to 2006. England, meanwhile, ended 16 years of heartache by finally winning it after finishing as runner-up to New Zealand in the last three tournaments. Harvey was named the IRB womens player of the year after the game. Canadian captain Kelly Russell was also a finalist for the award. Harvey and Russell were two of the five Canadian players on the World Cup roster who were on the team that lost to New Zealand in the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens final. Canada fought to a 13-13 draw with England during the group stage, but it looked like a different English side in the first half on Sunday. They keyed in on Harvey and prevented her from making a game-breaking run as she did in Canadas semifinal win over host France. On offence, England used its size to exert all sorts of pressure, making several dangerous advances into Canadian territory. Scarratt opened the scoring 11 minutes into the match. England drew a penalty after an impressive break from Natasha Hunt, who used her speed to run down the middle deep into the Canadian zone. England could have come away with more early on, but Canadas defence held firm with some solid tackling. Canada was spared a try when Hunt was tackled near the touch-line. An official review declared Hunt had not moved the ball into touch when she was brought down by Andrea Burk. England kept coming, and Scarratt kicked her second penalty of the game at the 25-minute mark to put England up 6-0. Canada had trouble getting into Englands zone and it proved costly when Danielle Waterman capped a series of crisp passes and scored the games first try at the 33 minute mark. Scarratt missed the convert as England went up 11-0. "We were not able to match physically. At times we were dominant but they were more consistent," Ratier said. "They won some balls and we were not able to attack on the outside. We tried, but they were just better at defence." Canada finally started to get some momentum late in the half, and it paid off with a key penalty before the break when England was called for offside. Harvey converted the kick on the last play of the half to cut the deficit to 11-3. Harvey started the second half with two long penalties, the second from 42 yards out, and Canada suddenly looked dangerous trailing just 11-9. But that was as close as Canada would come. Scarratt responded with a penalty one minute later to restore Englands advantage to five points. Canada had some opportunities to close the gap, but Scarratt rescued her team when she scored a try with six minutes left in regulation, and added two points on a conversion. Canada continued to press for their first try of the game as time ran out. While the Canadians were able to get deep into Englands zone, the English did an excellent job of preventing any runs on the outside from getting through. "I was happy with how I played, how my team set me up, how they played," Harvey said. "Its too bad it couldnt go until the end, so it wasnt enough." Magalis scoring, including an incredible try against France where she ran the length of the field, has made her the breakout star of the Canadian team. Ratier said while she is a good teammate and a good player, she is still only one part of the team. "Shes a winger, so she scores tries because its her job," Ratier said. "Shes the first to get a bit annoyed when shes made out to be the star of the team, because she doesnt feel like that at all." But Ratier sees the value of having someone like Harvey become the face of the team, especially for a sport like womens rugby which is still finding a foothold in the Canadian sports landscape. 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On Sunday, hell attempt to become the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Nationwide race on Iowas short track. The 20-year-old Blaney wont be the only kid pushing a podium finish. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Al Jefferson sat at his locker pondering how the Charlotte Bobcats nearly surrendered a 30-point lead they held late in the third quarter. "Of course we had to make it a game," Jefferson said with a grin. "We couldnt enjoy an easy win, right?" It never seems that easy for the Bobcats. Despite the big lead, Jefferson and Bobcats didnt breathe a sigh of relief until Ramon Sessions knocked down two free throws with 1.6 seconds left to secure a 100-95 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday. Jefferson became the first Bobcats player to record a double-double in the first quarter and finished with 22 points, 19 rebounds and a season-high seven assists and the Bobcats defeated the Raptors for the seventh straight time in Charlotte. "The important thing is we came out of it with a win," Jefferson said after the Bobcats withstood a furious Toronto rally that included several 3-pointers. It was Charlottes first game without point guard Kemba Walker, whose streak of 190 straight games played -- the second-longest in franchise history -- was snapped. Walker sprained his ankle in a loss Saturday night to the Miami Heat. But the Bobcats got more than enough from their two reserve point guards as Sessions and the seldom-used Jannero Pargo combined for 40 points on 10 of 17 shooting. Sessions started and had 23 points in 34 minutes and was 10 of 11 from the line. "We knew they were going to make a run sooner or later, especially with how good theyve been playing," Sessions said. "We didnt expect it to be that big of a run." DeMar DeRozan had 25 points and Kyle Lowry had 21 for the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors, who fell to .500 after their fourth straight road loss. The Raptors were down 71-41 with 4:37 left in the third quarter when they started to find some energy. They outscored the Bobcats 28-0 on second-chance points, but it still wasnt enough. Toronto twice had chances to tie the game in the final two minutes, but Lowry missed a free throw and Greivis Vasquez couldnt connect on a long 3-pointer. "To be a championship team or even think about the playoffs, youve got to play back-to-back, you have to play nicked up, youve got to play a little fatigued," Raptors coach Dwwane Casey said.dddddddddddd "Right now, we have a bunch of guys who are giving into fatigue and nicked up. Its a long season, but, again, you tell a lot about who you are in these situations. "This was a gut-check game. In the fourth quarter, we turned it around. But its about what we did in the first three quarters that was disappointing." Despite nearly surrendering a huge lead, Bobcats coach Steve Clifford called it a "big win" for his team with Walker out of the lineup. Jefferson, who came in averaging 27.8 points and 11.5 rebounds for his previous four games, had 14 points and 12 rebounds in the first half as the Bobcats went up 55-36. But the Raptors began double teaming Jefferson in the third quarter with Chuck Hayes the primary defender. "Chuck and I are great friends, but I hate him as a defender," Jefferson said. "Hes one of those guys thats very smart and you cant move him." Things got hairy for the Bobcats when DeRozan stripped Jefferson and went the length of the floor for an uncontested layup to trim the lead to three with 2:33 left. With 26 seconds left, Lowry drove the lane, scored and drew a foul on Jefferson to cut the lead to one. But he missed the free throw that would have tied the game. Sessions hit two free throws to push the lead back to three. Vasquez, who finished with 15 points and nine assists in his best game as a Raptor, got an open look from the right corner on the next possession but missed a 3-pointer from the right corner. Walker is expected to miss about two weeks after spraining his ankle in Saturday nights loss to Miami. He had 29 points against the Raptors on Dec. 18, including a buzzer beater in a 104-102 victory. But Sessions and Pargo provided a great spark. Sessions had nine points in the first quarter and Pargo came off the bench to hit his first three shots, including two 3-pointers, in his first four minutes of play in the second quarter. NOTES: The 36 points in the first half were the fewest allowed by the Bobcats all season -- they held the Raptors to 33 per cent shooting. ... Jefferson posted his third straight game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. .. .Charlotte has won nine of its past 14 against Toronto. .. Toronto attempted 29 3-pointers. They made 10. 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